One who was up to speed on Georgia and the menace it faced from Russia was veteran Sen. John McCain. He had visited the Caucasian nation three times in a dozen years. When fighting erupted, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate got on the phone to gather details and issued a statement Friday summarizing the situation, tagging Russia as the aggressor and demanding it withdraw its forces from the sovereign territory of Georgia.

It took first-term Sen. Barack Obama three tries to get it right. Headed for a vacation in Hawaii, the presumed Democratic candidate for commander in chief issued an even-handed statement, urging restraint by both sides. Later Friday, he again called for mutual restraint but blamed Russia for the fighting. The next day his language finally caught up with toughness of McCain's.

Making matters worse, Obama's staff focused on a McCain aide who had served as a lobbyist for Georgia, charging it showed McCain was "ensconced in a lobbyist culture." Obama's campaign came off as injecting petty partisan politics into an international crisis. This was not a serious response on behalf a man who aspires to be the leader of the Free World. After all, what's so bad about representing a small former Soviet republic struggling to remake itself as a Western-style democracy?

Click to expand...

-snip

And in the New York Times...

For Mr. McCain, the conflict came after months of warnings about the situation in Georgia. Mr. McCain befriended Georgias president, Mikheil Saakashvili, over the course of several trips there, and even nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 (in a letter that was co-signed by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York).

Mr. McCains top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, lobbied on behalf of the Georgian government until March, and Mr. McCain has long embraced Georgias efforts to move toward joining NATO, which has been seen as part of a broader strategy to contain Russia by admitting its old satellites and former Soviet republics into the alliance.

NATOs decision to withhold a membership action plan for Georgia might have been viewed as a green light by Russia for its attacks on Georgia, Mr. McCain told reporters on Monday in Erie, Pa., and I urge the NATO allies to revisit the decision.

While Mr. McCain has long called for excluding Russia from the Group of 8, and isolating it on the world stage, his probable Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama, has made clear he favors more engagement with Russia (even as he speaks of reviewing relationships with Russia, including its interest in joining the World Trade Organization).

Well!! It is pretty obvious why McCain "was up to speed" on this and knew about it ahead of time

One who was up to speed on Georgia and the menace it faced from Russia was veteran Sen. John McCain. He had visited the Caucasian nation three times in a dozen years. When fighting erupted, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate got on the phone to gather details and issued a statement Friday summarizing the situation, tagging Russia as the aggressor and demanding it withdraw its forces from the sovereign territory of Georgia.

Click to expand...

George Bush had to make sure that he was well trained in moving our troops into another country ..... just in case ..... his good buddy McCain gets elected. He wants to make sure McCain knows how to stick his nose into another country's business, just like he has.

Yes, the media sure is trying awfully hard to make this a win for McCain. I'm not buying it. I think it points out how we can't do shit for our allies because we are spread too thin. And Georgia is furious with us because we basically don't have their backs. What can we do?

The GOP is starting up the cold war again because apparently, war is good for Republican candidates. Just like another 9-11 would be a good thing for McCain and his defense buddies.

Well!! It is pretty obvious why McCain "was up to speed" on this and knew about it ahead of time

George Bush had to make sure that he was well trained in moving our troops into another country ..... just in case ..... his good buddy McCain gets elected. He wants to make sure McCain knows how to stick his nose into another country's business, just like he has.

Wake up and smell the coffee

Click to expand...

Woke up and smelled the conspiracy theory. LOL

This is a thread about who is ready to lead. Which POTUS candidate knows who the good guys are and who the bad guys are w/o consulting 300 advisors. etc...

Yes, the media sure is trying awfully hard to make this a win for McCain. I'm not buying it. I think it points out how we can't do shit for our allies because we are spread too thin. And Georgia is furious with us because we basically don't have their backs. What can we do?

The GOP is starting up the cold war again because apparently, war is good for Republican candidates. Just like another 9-11 would be a good thing for McCain and his defense buddies.

Click to expand...

I'll be leaving aside the nutty media comment. I can offer proof they are in the tank for Obama in another thread at another time if you like.

We already are "doing shit" for Georgia in aid and in getting some of their troops back home. We are also working with allies to figure out the best way to punish Russia w/o escalating the conflict. What would you have us do to "have their backs" attack Russia?!? No thanks.

Crazy GOP comment too. Today it's "the GOP is starting up the cold war" tomorrow the Republicans will be a minority party of slack jawed yokels again. Get a freakin' clue. It's Russia that want's the cold war days back, not us. It's Russia that invaded a sovereign country, not us. (no, Iraq was not a sovereign country idjit)

Useful Searches

About USMessageBoard.com

USMessageBoard.com was founded in 2003 with the intent of allowing all voices to be heard. With a wildly diverse community from all sides of the political spectrum, USMessageBoard.com continues to build on that tradition. We welcome everyone despite political and/or religious beliefs, and we continue to encourage the right to free speech.

Come on in and join the discussion. Thank you for stopping by USMessageBoard.com!